Helen Keller meeting comedian Charlie Chaplin in 1918

Helen Keller meeting comedian Charlie Chaplin in 1918

Charlie Chaplin

Comic

charliechaplin.com

Sir Charles Spencer "Charlie" Chaplin, KBE was an English comic actor, filmmaker, and composer who rose to fame in the silent era. Wikipedia

Born: April 16, 1889, Walworth, London, United Kingdom

Died: December 25, 1977, Corsier-sur-Vevey, Switzerland

Spouse: Oona O'Neill (m. 1943–1977), More

Children: Geraldine Chaplin, Michael Chaplin, Sydney Chaplin, More

Quotes

Life is a tragedy when seen in close-up, but a comedy in long-shot.

A day without laughter is a day wasted.

We think too much and feel too little.

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Movies

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The Kid

1921

Modern Times

1936

The Great Dictator

1940

City Lights

1931

Chaplin

1992

Sir Charles Spencer "Charlie" Chaplin, KBE (16 April 1889 – 25 December 1977) was an English comic actor, filmmaker, and composer who rose to fame in the silent era. Chaplin became a worldwide icon through his screen persona "the Tramp" and is considered one of the most important figures in the history of the film industry.^[1] His career spanned more than 75 years, from childhood in the Victorian era until a year before his death in 1977, and encompassed both adulation and controversy.

Chaplin's childhood in London was one of poverty and hardship. As his father was absent and his mother struggled financially, he was sent to a workhouse twice before the age of nine. When he was 14, his mother was committed to a mental asylum. Chaplin began performing at an early age, touring music halls and later working as a stage actor and comedian. At 19 he was signed to the prestigious Fred Karno company, which took him to America. Chaplin was scouted for the film industry, and began appearing in 1914 for Keystone Studios. He soon developed the Tramp persona and formed a large fan base. Chaplin directed his own films from an early stage, and continued to hone his craft as he moved to the Essanay, Mutual, and First National corporations. By 1918, he was one of the best known figures in the world.

In 1919, Chaplin co-founded the distribution company United Artists, which gave him complete control over his films. His first feature-length was The Kid (1921), followed by A Woman of Paris (1923), The Gold Rush (1925), and The Circus (1928). He refused to move to sound films in the 1930s, instead producing City Lights (1931) and Modern Times(1936) without dialogue. Chaplin became increasingly political, and his next film, The Great Dictator (1940), satirisedAdolf Hitler. The 1940s were a decade marked with controversy for Chaplin, and his popularity declined rapidly. He was accused of communist sympathies, while his involvement in a paternity suit and marriages to much younger women caused scandal. An FBI investigation was opened, and Chaplin was forced to leave the United States and settle in Switzerland. He abandoned the Tramp in his later films, which include Monsieur Verdoux (1947), Limelight (1952), A King in New York (1957), and A Countess from Hong Kong (1967).

Chaplin wrote, directed, produced, edited, starred in, and composed the music for most of his films. He was a perfectionist, and his financial independence enabled him to spend years on the development and production of a picture. His films are characterised by slapstick combined with pathos, typified in the Tramp's struggles against adversity. Many contain social and political themes, as well as autobiographical elements. In 1972, as part of a renewed appreciation for his work, Chaplin received an Honorary Academy Award for "the incalculable effect he has had in making motion pictures the art form of this century". He continues to be held in high regard, with The Gold Rush,City Lights, Modern Times, and The Great Dictator often ranked on industry lists of the greatest films of all time.

Helen Keller

Author

Helen Adams Keller was an American author, political activist, and lecturer. She was the first deaf-blind person to earn a bachelor of arts degree. Wikipedia

Born: June 27, 1880, Tuscumbia, Alabama, United States

Died: June 1, 1968, Easton, Connecticut, United States

Movies: The Miracle Worker, Helen Keller in Her Story

Parents: Arthur H. Keller, Kate Adams Keller

Quotes

The best and most beautiful things in the world cannot be seen or even touched - they must be felt with the heart.

Life is either a great adventure or nothing.

Although the world is full of suffering, it is also full of the overcoming of it.

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Books

The Story of My Life

1903

Three Days to See

The World I Live In

1904

Light in My Darkness

1927

The song of the stone wall

1910

Helen Adams Keller (June 27, 1880 – June 1, 1968) was an American author, political activist, and lecturer. She was the first deaf-blind person to earn a bachelor of arts degree.^[2][3] The story of how Keller's teacher, Anne Sullivan, broke through the isolation imposed by a near complete lack of language, allowing the girl to blossom as she learned to communicate, has become widely known through the dramatic depictions of the play and film The Miracle Worker. Her birthplace in West Tuscumbia, Alabama, is now a museum^[4] and sponsors an annual "Helen Keller Day". Her birthday on June 27 is commemorated as Helen Keller Day in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and was authorized at the federal level by presidential proclamation by President Jimmy Carter in 1980, the 100th anniversary of her birth.

A prolific author, Keller was well-traveled and outspoken in her convictions. A member of the Socialist Party of Americaand the Industrial Workers of the World, she campaigned for women's suffrage, labor rights, socialism, antimilitarism, and other similar causes. She was inducted into the Alabama Women's Hall of Fame in 1971^[5] and was one of twelve inaugural inductees to the Alabama Writers Hall of Fame on June 8, 2015.

Helen Keller

Author

Helen Adams Keller was an American author, political activist, and lecturer. She was the first deaf-blind person to earn a bachelor of arts degree. Wikipedia

Born: June 27, 1880, Tuscumbia, Alabama, United States

Died: June 1, 1968, Easton, Connecticut, United States

Movies: The Miracle Worker, Helen Keller in Her Story

Parents: Arthur H. Keller, Kate Adams Keller

Quotes

The best and most beautiful things in the world cannot be seen or even touched - they must be felt with the heart.

Life is either a great adventure or nothing.

Although the world is full of suffering, it is also full of the overcoming of it.

View 7+ more

Books

View 20+ more

The Story of My Life

1903

Three Days to See

The World I Live In

1904

Light in My Darkness

1927

The song of the stone wall

1910